Court Receives Docs That Prosecutors Seeking Death Penalty Against Robinson
Tyler Robinson, the man accused of assassinating Turning Point USA founder Charlie Kirk, made his first virtual court appearance Tuesday after being officially charged with seven criminal counts.
Utah County Attorney Jeff Gray confirmed in court that prosecutors will seek the death penalty against Robinson, stressing the gravity of the crime.
“I do not take this decision lightly and it is a decision I have made independently as county attorney based solely on the available evidence and circumstances and nature of the crime,” Gray stated. “I talked to officials from both (Cox and Trump) administrations, but I was not pressured to make a decision.”
Robinson is facing charges of aggravated murder, witness tampering, obstruction of justice, and committing a violent crime in front of a child. Court filings show prosecutors intend to pursue capital punishment if Robinson is convicted.
Utah’s Execution Laws
Utah law permits executions either by lethal injection or, in rare cases, by firing squad. While lethal injection remains the state’s default method, executions by firing squad are still legal if lethal injection drugs become unavailable or unconstitutional.
USA Today reported: “While most executions in the U.S. are carried out by lethal injection, Robinson faces trial in Utah, which is only one of two death penalty states that have used the firing squad in modern U.S. history. (South Carolina is the other.)”
The outlet further noted: “Before 2004, inmates could choose to die by firing squad over lethal injection but now they no longer have a choice. Under current law, inmates will be executed by lethal injection unless that method is found to be unconstitutional or the lethal drugs used in executions are unavailable.”
Although the U.S. Supreme Court has never struck down an execution method as unconstitutional, some states have revived firing squads due to challenges in acquiring lethal injection drugs.
Radicalization and Motive
Police say Robinson had become increasingly radicalized in the past year, citing testimony from his mother. Investigators believe this shift was influenced by Robinson’s relationship with a male-to-female transitioning roommate, described by authorities as both a live-in partner and a key witness in the case.
Evidence presented Tuesday included a chain of text messages in which Robinson allegedly confessed to the shooting. In one exchange, he wrote: “I had enough of [Kirk’s] hatred. Some hate can’t be negotiated out.” Prosecutors say he admitted planning the assassination for more than a week, instructing his partner to delete evidence and remain silent.
Police recovered a Mauser .30-06 rifle wrapped in a towel near Utah Valley University (UVU), where Kirk was gunned down while answering questions in the school’s public plaza. Eyewitnesses and video confirmed that Kirk, a 31-year-old father of two, was shot from a rooftop roughly 200 yards away.
While Robinson’s precise employment and background remain unclear, the texts revealed he feared police would find the firearm due to the area’s swift lockdown after the killing.
The Road Ahead
Gray underscored the seriousness of the proceedings but reminded the court of the legal standard: “The accused is presumed innocent until we, the state, prove to an impartial jury of defendant’s peers his guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.”
If convicted, Robinson could face execution in one of the only two states in the nation still capable of carrying out firing squad sentences.